# Chapter 269: Overwhelming
The appearance of a stunning beauty always managed to capture the attention of the vast majority of people in a short time. But Xia Qingyue was different; every time she appeared, she captured not just their gazes, but caused everyone's souls to momentarily leave their bodies.
Xia Qingyue slowly floated down and stood in front of Yun Che, clothed in white, with a snow-like dreamy countenance and icy stars for eyes. A long white silk ribbon danced lightly around her body. For a moment, the entire venue fell silent. Everyone stared blankly at Xia Qingyue, their eyes misty as if they had suddenly fallen into a dream, witnessing a legendary moon palace fairy descending to the mortal world...
Heimu Qingya stumbled back several steps, his right hand trembling in excruciating pain, all five fingers broken and twisted beyond recognition. He looked up at Xia Qingyue, and after a moment of shock, his heart was filled with extreme astonishment... He had actually been injured by this girl who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen! The profound strength contained in that single strike was enough to make his heart tremble with fear. And the icy profound force emanating from Xia Qingyue made every nerve in his body tighten... because it was a power that completely overwhelmed him at the level!
Behind him, over a hundred Blackwood Fortress disciples who had been blown away by the cold air fell to the ground like dumplings being poured out, but not a single one stood up. They all lay on the ground, groaning in pain and grimacing, because their bodies were all more or less covered with ice crystals. The areas covered by the ice crystals were frozen stiff within a few breaths, even completely losing sensation, making it impossible for them to stand up anytime soon.
Heimu Qingya's brows twitched violently. He raised his left hand and pointed at Xia Qingyue: "You... you... who are you!!"
There was a distinct tremor in Heimu Qingya's voice. He had just received a strike from Xia Qingyue and was locked onto by her power, so he could best feel how terrifying her strength was. At such an age, coupled with such profound force, it was enough to turn the soul world of this Blackwood Fortress Master upside down with shock.
Xia Qingyue looked coldly at Heimu Qingya without saying a word. Behind her, Yun Che's eyes lit up. Carrying Su Ling'er, he swiftly moved to her side: "Wife Qingyue, you've finally arrived. If you had come any later, you would have been a widow for the rest of your life!"
As he spoke, Yun Che put on an expression of lingering fear. Xia Qingyue's eyes flickered slightly, feeling quite helpless. Others might not know Yun Che's strength clearly, but she knew it all too well... With the Star God Remnant Shadow technique, even if it were a strong Heaven Xuan realm expert like Heimu Qingya, it wouldn't be easy for him to even touch Yun Che's shadow.
When Yun Che said "Wife Qingyue," all the male disciples who were infatuated felt as if a knife had been stabbed into their chests, casting looks of extreme envy and jealousy at Yun Che... Their attention was completely captivated by Xia Qingyue's celestial beauty and divine bearing, and they hadn't yet realized how terrifying her strength was. Perhaps the moment they saw Xia Qingyue, their perception wouldn't connect her with the word "strong," because with such beauty, a single smile or frown could conquer the world; there was no need for powerful strength.
"Pretty big sister, you're awake... that's wonderful... I'm Ling'er." Being held tightly by Yun Che in front of so many people, Su Ling'er seemed a bit shy, her little face flushed red as she greeted Xia Qingyue in a very soft voice.
Xia Qingyue shifted her gaze and nodded slightly to Su Ling'er, the corner of her mouth twitching a little, but she couldn't manage a smile... Perhaps she had already forgotten how to smile. At least, Yun Che had never seen her smile.
For the powerful elders present, they were not only amazed by Xia Qingyue's appearance but also by the fact that she had repelled Heimu Qingya with a single move, making them all change expression, filled with shock and disbelief... But they immediately comforted themselves, thinking that a girl of only seventeen or eighteen, no matter how monstrous her talent, simply couldn't have pushed back a Heaven Xuan realm expert. It must have been accidental, or perhaps Heimu Qingya's attack had only used a fraction of his strength...
Although they consoled themselves this way, their perception clearly told them that when Heimu Qingya had struck, he had not held back at all; rather, he had used his full ten-tenths strength!
Su Hengshan stepped forward. When he faced Xia Qingyue, his demeanor even showed a trace of respect: "Miss, I am Su Hengshan. You were previously injured and unconscious, but now you seem to be fine. That's wonderful. Thank you for intervening just now to save... my daughter."
Yun Che nodded: "Mm, Wife Qingyue, this is my newly acknowledged father-in-law. Thanks to Father-in-law's hospitality, we have a place to stay."
Calling her "Wife Qingyue" while introducing his "father-in-law" caused many to stare wide-eyed, but surprisingly, this breathtakingly beautiful girl showed no signs of jealousy. She turned and gave a slight bow to Su Hengshan: "Junior Xia Qingyue, thank you, Sect Master Su, for your hospitality."
"Not at all, not at all. You're too polite." Su Hengshan quickly waved his hands. Although he was middle-aged, he still didn't dare meet her gaze. He sighed inwardly, then turned his eyes to Heimu Qingya, his face instantly flooding with anger: "Heimu Qingya! You despicable man! I've always known of your vile reputation, but I never imagined you could stoop to such shamelessness! That our Great Su Sect has been compared to your Blackwood Fortress in recent years is an utter disgrace!"
Su Hengshan then glanced to the side and said to Su Wangji: "Supreme Elder, you saw everything clearly just now. Su Hengyue associating with people like this not only borders on betraying the sect but also brings us shame! And you, as our Supreme Elder, still sided with him. Though I am the sect master, I am also your junior. I have endured again and again, and even when Su Hengyue repeatedly made accusations, I never retaliated! But today... Earlier, the Blackwood Fortress attempted to abduct Ling'er, and I could still tell myself you were completely unaware. But just now, when Heimu Qingya suddenly attacked my son-in-law, not only did you not stop him, you were calm and composed... Supreme Elder, Su Hengyue, although I am extremely reluctant to see internal strife that lets those with ulterior motives laugh at us, I am not a toothless tiger! The Great Su Sect, in the end, is still under my command!"
"Enough!" Su Wangji's expression was extremely ugly. He glanced at Heimu Qingya, whose right hand was trembling, and at Su Haoyu, who was heavily injured and lying on the ground. He slapped the armrest and stood up: "Today's matter ends here... Hengyue, take Haoyu and leave!"
Su Hengyue's face twitched. He cast a venomous look at Su Hengshan and Yun Che, then ordered his disciples to carry the unconscious Su Haoyu, and without a word, prepared to leave in resentment. Su Hengshan's words were correct; ultimately, the Great Su Sect was still under his command. The reason he had dared to come here so aggressively today was that his greatest reliance was Su Haoyu's unmatched talent. On this point, he had garnered support from many sect members, and coupled with the power of Blackwood Fortress, it was enough to put immense pressure on Su Hengshan. But he had never expected that a wild card like Yun Che would suddenly appear!
Su Hengshan's brows moved. He extended his right arm, but halfway, he withdrew it, holding back his anger, letting them prepare to leave. At that moment, a cold snort suddenly rang out.
"Wait!!"
Yun Che stepped forward, coldly staring at the stiff-faced Heimu Qingya: "This isn't my territory, so it's not quite appropriate for me to say, 'You come and go as you please,' but... Fortress Master Heimu, do you think you can just let go of the fact that you tried to kill me just now?"
Heimu Qingya narrowed his eyes and sneered: "Oh? You want to keep me here?"
Although Heimu Qingya sneered verbally, he was far from comfortable. Cold sweat was already pouring down his back. His right palm was not just broken; he felt streams of extremely cold energy flowing through his entire right hand. These streams of cold were like ice blades, and every second they flowed was like a dozen knives gouging at his hand, causing him excruciating pain. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't expel even a single stream of that cold energy.
He was the one who most wanted to leave immediately, because deep fear of Xia Qingyue had already taken root in his heart.
"Keep you here? Hahahaha, you overestimate yourself. With your ugly and vicious face and your despicable and shameless soul, I'd find it dirty to leave you here to feed the flies! I just want to settle the score from just now!" Yun Che turned his head and said solemnly: "Of course, this is a personal grudge between Heimu Qingya and me, and has nothing to do with the Great Su Sect..."
Having said that, Yun Che suddenly pointed at Heimu Qingya and said angrily: "Wife Qingyue! It was him! Just now, he attacked me, trying to kill me! This kind of attempted husband-murder, even if I could endure it, you can't, right!?"
Xia Qingyue's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and her cold starry eyes locked onto Heimu Qingya. Before Heimu Qingya could even speak, the Ice Phoenix Qionghua silk ribbon around her body suddenly shot out like lightning, sweeping straight toward Heimu Qingya's chest.
Heimu Qingya's eyes darkened, and he growled: "Arrogant brat! Do you think I'm afraid of you!?"
Heimu Qingya moved his hand, grabbing a black iron spear. With a low roar, the spear shaft coiled into a huge black whirlpool, meeting the seemingly powerless Ice Phoenix Qionghua silk.
This was the might of a Heaven Xuan realm expert. Those standing even slightly close felt their breathing become labored, even suffocating.
Rip!!
The moment the Ice Phoenix Qionghua silk touched the black iron spear, a piercing tearing sound came. The whirlpool, which had coiled immense power, was torn apart like a piece of thin paper. A blooming ice lotus suddenly appeared, knocking aside the spear shaft and heading straight for Heimu Qingya's face.
Heimu Qingya was greatly alarmed and hurriedly retreated. Everyone around was stunned... That strike from Heimu Qingya had used his full power, yet it was shattered by this girl with a single blow!
"I'll help you!!"
Seeing the situation turning unfavorable, Su Hengyue swiftly turned around and stabbed his sword at the Ice Phoenix Qionghua silk... Two Heaven Xuan realm experts, both ranked in the top ten in Jiangdong, were joining forces to deal with a seventeen-year-old girl. Such a scene was unprecedented and unheard of, utterly unimaginable.
But Xia Qingyue's expression didn't waver at all. She only gently changed her hand gesture.
In an instant, the spinning ice lotus split into two, crashing toward Heimu Qingya and Su Hengyue respectively...
Bang!!
Su Hengyue's resistance was utterly futile. The moment his long sword touched the ice lotus, both his arm and the sword were frozen solid. One ice lotus imprinted on Heimu Qingya's chest, the other on Su Hengyue's chest, then both exploded simultaneously.
The two screamed at the same time, flying backward in opposite directions, knocking unconscious seven or eight Blackwood Fortress disciples in the process.
Their bodies were covered in shattered ice flowers, with countless wounds left behind. Half of their bodies were frozen, and they couldn't move for the moment. Lying on the ground, they were dazed, refusing to believe what had happened... Not just them, Su Hengshan, Su Wangji... even Yun Che was dumbfounded.
Two early-stage Heaven Xuan realm experts, among the strongest in the Jiangdong region, had been utterly defeated by a girl... with a single move!
Just one move!
When Xia Qingyue had repelled Heimu Qingya earlier, Yun Che had concluded that after refining the Bodhi Emperor Heart Pill, her strength had definitely surpassed Heimu Qingya's! Not only had she reached the Heaven Xuan realm, but she might have even leaped to the mid-stage Heaven Xuan realm...
But he had never imagined that against the combined force of two Heaven Xuan experts like Heimu Qingya and Su Hengyue, she could defeat them with a single move!
Even a mid-stage Heaven Xuan expert couldn't possibly do that!
Could it be... that Xia Qingyue was now at the late-stage Heaven Xuan realm?
"Mo Li, what level is Qingyue's profound force now?" Yun Che asked somewhat shakily.
"...Truly worthy of being the Heavenly Poison Pearl, ranked fifth among the Mysterious Heaven Supreme Treasures. This perfect refinement to the extreme can only be achieved by the Heavenly Poison Pearl in the vast world." Mo Li's voice also carried a hint of astonishment: "Her current profound force has already crossed the Heaven Xuan realm and entered the King Xuan realm! And she's even at the second level of the King Xuan realm, surpassing Chu Yueli!"
"These two second-level Heaven Xuan realm cultivators are no different from two infants who have just learned to walk in front of her now! If she hadn't held back, these two would have already turned into ice powder!"
Yun Che: "..."
Yun Che: "..."
Yun Che: "You... say... whaaaaat!?!?"